Soon the Supreme Court will make a ruling on the gun ban imposed on our nation’s capital.  If the Court wishes to redeem itself, and prove that the Constitution still exists in this country, it will rule to lift the ridiculous and unconstitutional ban on our fellow citizens.

The Second Amendment to the Constitution states: “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.” (Emphasis added)

While some argue that the Second Amendment refers only to the rights of the government militias to bear arms, as Chief Justice John Roberts points out, "If it was limited to state militias, why would (the drafters) say 'the right of the people?' In other words, why wouldn't they say 'state militias have the right to keep arms'?"

At least we know there’s one judge who actually cares about the original intent of the Constitution, and follows Thomas Jefferson’s advice of “instead of trying what meaning may be squeezed out of the text, or invented against it, conform to the probable one in which it was passed.”

The intent of giving every free American the right to bear arms can be seen in numerous writings and speeches given by the Founding Fathers:

"No Free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms.” – Thomas Jefferson

"A free people ought...to be armed...." – George Washington

"The Constitution shall never be construed...to prevent the people of the United States who are peaceable citizens from keeping their own arms." – Samuel Adams

"The great object is that every man be armed" and "everyone who is able may have a gun." – Patrick Henry

"Arms discourage and keep the invader and plunderer in awe, and preserve order in the world as well as property...Horrid mischief would ensue were the law-abiding deprived of the use of them." – Thomas Paine

"...to disarm the people ? that was the best and most effectual way to enslave them." – George Mason

These, and many other quotes of reference, clearly show that every American has the right to own firearms. 

To those afraid that mass shootings will break out all over D.C. once the ban is lifted, even more so than now, the majority of evidence suggests that the mere presence of guns among the law abiding population does not lead to more violence.

A comprehensive study conducted by Wright, Rossi, and Daly, Under the Gun: Weapons, Crime and Violence in the United States, concluded that, “There is no compelling evidence that the private ownership of firearms among the general population is, in itself, an important cause of criminal violence.”

Robert A. Levy revealed that:

“Before the District banned handguns in 1976, the murder rate had been declining. But soon afterward, the rate climbed to the highest of all large U.S. cities. It also rose relative to nearby Maryland and Virginia as well as relative to other cities with more than 500,000 people. During the 31-year life of the ban, with the exception of a few years during which the city's murder rate ranked second or third, there have been more killings per capita in Washington, D.C. than in any other major city.”

Levy went on to say that, “In 12 of the years between 1980 and 1997, including all nine years from 1989 through 1997, the violent crime rate in D.C. exceeded 2,000 per 100,000, reaching a high of 2,922 in 1993, versus 1,481 in 1976 — a 97 percent increase in violent crime, 17 years after citizens were forbidden from defending themselves with firearms. Moreover, the murder rate climbed as high as 81 per 100,000 inhabitants in 1991 — triple the pre-ban levels. As of 2005, the last year for which I have data, the murder rate is still 32 percent above the 1976 level.”

Amazingly, when D.C. residents were denied their Constitutional rights, crime grew worse.  Maybe the Framers actually knew what they were talking about after all.

That the gun ban in D.C. has stood up this long, or that it was ever enacted, presents yet another case of how America has strayed from its Constitutional roots, and lost sight of the traditions that made this country great.  Perhaps one day the Constitution will actually govern America once again.